Josh Smith

They were feeding on schooling baitfish, and I needed one that looked like a little bluegill!

Oh, boy.

Hello, Dad is interested (maybe) in a low-profile reel. I got him a Silver Max at the same time I had a Black Max, but neither of us liked them. The shape was OK for him (I still prefer round reels) but the feel was off. I'm therefore exploring reel options for him. Like me, he's not sure what's out there these days. He was happy to know that Lew's was still around as he was friends with Mr. Childress's nephew, and used an Abu Garcia 5000 and a Lew's tournament rod in the '70s when Lew's stuff was made by Shimano. I'd like to find a reel with a profile about the same as the Abu Garcia Max series. The frame needs to be metal, not graphite, and Dad said he'd like to try a reel retrieve speed in the 30ipt range. It does need to have the handle on the left hand side. I would prefer a price of around $50 as that's what I can comfortably afford at this point. I would assume this places me in the gently-use or refurbished reel category. Suggested recognized names are Lew's, Abu Garcia, and Shimano. I was looking at Revo reels, but they're just a shade more than I am comfortable spending. We're thinking about going after walleye this winter, and he prefers spinning reels for that, so I'm thinking the baitcaster might be a Christmas gift. Can you suggest a reel with that meets the above description? No hurry; still a couple months if ever, but I'm definitely looking slowly and methodically. Regards, Josh

Last night I dreamed I was out fishing. I had four rods, three baitcasting (two of which were custom I've been wanting from DVT!) and one was my ultralight spinning setup. Bass were jumping all over, but they weren't biting what I was offering. When I figured out what they wanted, I found that I only brought two tackle boxes and left the third with all the lures I needed at home! I don't think I've ever been so scared.

Yes. My exploration of the lake I'm currently obsessed with is far from complete. Josh

5500c3 answers both questions.

These 12" bass I talk about catching eat anything from ultralight lures to bigger, 1oz lures. They are aggressive! It's interesting. I have one pole that will throw over 1oz. If I go to bigger lures I'll have to invest in heavy poles. I am hoping the big bass in this lake are hiding deep. I'd sure like to get maps of the lake before they dammed the creek to make it, too! Josh

The largest I caught this year was probably 2lbs. The lake I concentrated on seems to have a LOT of 3 year old (or so) bass willing to hit lures. This is from the bank. Repairing the boat is taking more time than I figured, but I would like to get out next year and troll that lake. I am sure there must be bigger bass in there. That said, I'm starting to wonder if this lake is deep enough to have any real thermocline. Thinking back, I don't recall the sonar ever sounding that deep, but it has been years. But I digress. I am saying 2lbs max this year, maybe 3/4lb average. Josh

I guess I'm lucky. Most of my favorite lures have single hooks and are weedless. Mostly I fish deep cover, but I have the added benefit of doing less digging out of hooks, both on me and the fish. Josh

<sigh>

This. Exactly this. My kids are under a year and 6 years. Both will learn cursive. I've been through the founding documents and their printed counterparts. Know what? Key things are changed. Not so you'd notice, but things like "People" and "people" are different. Capitalization denotes differences and those differences are taken away in the modern translation. They took away the option of learning Latin before I hit high school, and there's a lot of stuff that I cannot now do without it. Latin is important. Everyone is so damned obsessed with charging ahead that the lessons of the past are forgotten, and we wonder why we're in the state we're in now. Bubonic plague, here we come! Josh

Thanks, guys. Been thinking about getting one of those lippin' things that in A-Jay's bottom pic. Am I right in remembering that the gill plates are sharp? I've only caught like two of these on my life. Actually, one was a Sauger. Dad went after bass and walleye; I went after bass and panfish. I've never forgot the fight those things put up. The one I tied into with the ultralight especially was an experience! Lures... I've tried walleye lures but the most successful (limited, I know!) were a Rapala minnow on an ultralight that I let float down the river to a rock, then twitched. BOOM! The other was an inline spinner. I'm thinking all these Red Devil spoons would be great to use. Some day, I'd like to go pike and musky fishing, too, and move beyond what I was taught. That's for another day, though. What kind of lures do you all favor? What rods and reels? I'm thinking that if my old 5000 and 5500 new 5500c3 and 5600 Mag are considered a bit heavy for bass by today's standards, they should be about right for Walleye. They're on MH rods, three being graphite and one being hybrid (Cherrywood HD, my favorite.) They range between 5'6" and 6'6", which is also my preference. I'm rebuilding a Lew's spinning reel that was Dad's, but it's not done yet. For those pictured, I really think I'd prefer the baitcasting reels anyway! I have been listening to seminars on walleye fishing while I fall asleep. Lots I didn't know! Thanks, guys! Josh

Hi Folks, I am just wondering how you all handle walleye. Used to be I would transfer them directly to the stringer and not touch them at all. This year, however, I will probably use a cooler filled with ice instead of the stringer. What is the best place/way to hold them by hand? Thank you, Josh

I don't remember my first fishing trip. I was two or three when Dad started taking me. We would go to a private pond as well as Little Flat Rock River. I wore a life jacket and held a little Zebco while Dad went wading for smallmouth. Eventually Dad went to a Quantum 1310 and I inherited his '70s 5000. I'm actually in the process of rebuilding it right now. Dad is still alive and well, but doesn't enjoy fishing much any more due to a bum knee and just age. I figure I'll keep bugging him until he goes again. Meantime I'm teaching my boy. Josh

When I got my Pflueger, tripping the bail with the crank was a bit tough. It may still be; I do not know. I am not that good with taking spinning reels apart. (Casting, yes, but I have much more practice.) I therefore just started closing the bail by hand. Now it is second nature. Josh

Bronson baitcaster on a vintage Cherrywood rod. Josh

Hello, It's the nature of disease germs to evolve. If the germ is confined to a few hosts, it cannot afford to kill them because it would threaten the survival of the germ. However, when it because wider-spread (more hosts), the germ can become lethal without endangering the strain. Ancestral HIV, for example, was not as readily lethal as later (HIV-2 and other) strains. The Ebola virus can and will mutate to be more virulent if we allow it to spread to a wider population. That said, I "ain't skeered." Josh

It's dropping. I can't give a precise number because I've not been out there to measure it. The rain has been cold and this is part of the concern. In my experience only, cold rain drives fish deeper. This is a watershed lake. One nice thing is that after it stops raining, regardless of the barometric pressure or cold front that just passed (usually!), the bass move up to see what's being brought to them from various normally-dry ditches and it makes them easy to target. As well, there's a simple overflow for the earthen dam. When the water level rises, it starts draining and creates a current through the whole lake's surface. I can use this current to my advantage. It just seems that they wait until after it rains to do this. I'd like to get out there and find out if turnover has happened, yet. We still have pretty sunny days and it's not overly cool at night; I'd say it's seasonally warm so probably not, but I'm not going to guarantee that. From my past year's study of this lake, the bass seem to pattern much differently than most other bass most other places. It's interesting as heck and helps me catch them. Regards, Josh

I go during the week so there is no one else fishing. I've never caught anything when it rains but a cold. What's the first lure I should try? In the past I've tried critter baits without any luck. Josh

... in the past three weeks or a month I thought I'd get some time to go fishing, it friggin' rains!!! Hard, and cold. I'm kept pretty busy but for the sake of my sanity, I try to go at least once per week. This means working a weekend day and going during the week sometime, but I have to schedule this with myself in advance. It always rains that day. Always. /rant

I think it does. At least, it does for me. I think we'll have to agree to disagree, though. Ever notice how two people can look at the very same thing and draw vastly different conclusions? That's what we're doing. I'm looking at it from an engineering (I grew up with an engineering father) and gunsmith's point of view, and you're looking at it from the point of view of your profession. You're looking at reaction times in terms of reels and drumsticks, and I'm looking at reaction times in terms of reels and escrima sticks. Regards, Josh

Francho, I don't know what rollout is. Larger tires? Never heard it called that, but OK. Cool. Francho, it's all good. I don't expect it to work for everyone. Small changes in mechanics can feel like big, subjectively, like a 2.2" reel handle vs a 3" reel handle. One feels better than the other. Like I said, I only wanted to share what I found works for me, an I'm not forcing it on anyone. The old 5500 reels did have much smaller handles than modern reels and could therefore be spun faster (smaller distance covered by the reel handle for inches of line retrieved.) Therefore, handle length is not irrelevant. However, I do think we agree on all other points. Josh

OK. If I turn the crank X number of inches, then I retrieve Y amount of line. Where does this help? A reel with gearing of 6.3:1 can have the same rate of retrieve as a 7.0:1 reel. One must take the reel as a whole and not just look at the gearing. Because the purpose of the crank handle is to retrieve line, it seems more logical that the ratio should be distance of reel handle travel to inches of line retrieved instead of the ratio of the internal gears. Where this helps me, and I'm only sharing what helps me, is that I can look at a new reel and say, "A 4.7:1 5500 has a retrieve ratio of 2" of line for every inch of travel of a 3.5" handle. Therefore, this new reel I'm looking at, which also has a 3.5" handle, will feel just a bit faster at 2.5" of retrieve for every inch the handle turns." Practical Application: I bought a Black Max with a 6.3:1 gear ratio assuming it would be faster than the old 5000 and 5500 reels I was playing with. It was not. In fact, it retrieved about the same, maybe slightly faster. I also have a few Quantum baitcasting reels with something like 5.2:1 gears. They are noticeably slower than the 4.7:1 gears in the 5500 reels. I sat down, did the math, and had a "duh" moment. Francho, I'm not suggesting that this is for everyone. It's a system I've moved to and it works for me. It gives me the precision I demand. Comparison between two similar reels with similar spool diameters is done just fine with the internal gear ratio. However, if I want to know how fast a low-profile reel will retrieve compared one of the round reels I'm used to, well, I can't use the gear ratio and must resort to overall ratio due to differences in handle and spool sizes. I'm not forcing this view on anyone. I just thought I might share it. Regards, Josh

Actually, I have a use for a rod like that. I wonder what they sell for themselves? Josh

But dude, you catch bigger bass than I do.